Colin Robson is a Professor in the Centres for Applied Childhood Studies and Evaluation Studies at Huddersfield University, and chief consultant to a major international project on the education of children with disabilities, difficulties and disadvantages, OECD, Paris. He is the author of the bestselling Real World Research.
Preface xvii Ways of using the book xxi The main steps when carrying out a project xxiii PART I SETTING THE SCENE 1 Keeping your own project journal 1 Chapter 1 Introduction 3 What is real world research? 3 Design matters 5 Evaluation and change 6 The audience for this book 7 Returning to the real world 10 Beginning the journey 12 Chapter 2 Approaches to social research 14 Introduction 14 What is science? 15 Postmodernism and extreme relativist approaches 17 The two traditions: quantitative and qualitative social research 18 The quantitative paradigm 20 The qualitative paradigm 24 Paradigms and research questions 26 A pragmatic approach 28 Multi]strategy research designs 30 Realism and real world research 30 The purposes of research 39 Practical value of the theoretical material covered in the chapter 40 PART II PLANNING: SELECTING A STRATEGY 43 Chapter 3 Developing your ideas 45 Introduction 45 Deciding on the focus 47 Searching and reviewing the literature 52 Research questions 59 Developing your research question(s) 63 The place of theory 66 Chapter 4 General design issues 71 Introduction 71 A framework for research design 72 Getting a feel for design issues 75 Choosing a research design strategy 75 Establishing trustworthiness 78 Chapter 5 Desk-based research 82 Introduction 82 Types of desk]based research 83 Doing a literature review as a desk]based project 88 The main steps when carrying out a literature review as a desk-based project 89 Doing a systematic review 93 Doing realist reviews 97 In summary 100 Chapter 6 Fixed designs 101 Introduction 101 General features of fixed designs 103 Establishing trustworthiness in fixed design research 104 True experiments 121 Designs involving matching 123 Quasi]experiments 126 Single]case experiments 134 Non]experimental fixed designs 139 Sample size in fixed designs 144 Chapter 7 Flexible designs 145 Introduction 145 General features of flexible designs 146 Research traditions in qualitative research 149 Case studies 150 Ethnographic studies 156 Grounded theory studies 161 Other traditions 165 Sampling in flexible designs 166 Establishing trustworthiness in flexible design research 168 Chapter 8 Multi-strategy (mixed method) designs 174 Introduction 174 The quantitative]qualitative incompatibility thesis 175 The mixed methods movement 176 Types of multi]strategy designs 177 Designing and carrying out multi]strategy research 180 Pragmatism, realism or anything goes? 183 Dealing with discrepancies in findings 184 Chapter 9 Designs for particular purposes: evaluation, action and change 187 Introduction 187 Evaluation research 187 Action research 199 Intervention and change 203 Researchers and practitioners 204 Chapter 10 Ethical and political considerations 205 Introduction 205 Ethical codes and guidelines 208 Ethical issues 209 Researcher safety and risk 220 Working with vulnerable groups 222 General ethical responsibilities 229 Ethical review boards and committees 231 Politics and real world research 235 Sexism, racism and social research 239 PART III TACTICS: THE METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION 241 Selecting the method(s) 241 Chapter 11 Surveys and questionnaires 243 Introduction 243 Designing surveys 245 Carrying out a sample survey 256 Designing and using a questionnaire 258 Diaries 273 Sampling in surveys and elsewhere 276 Probability samples 277 Non]probability samples 279 Chapter 12 Interviews and focus groups 284 Introduction 284 Types and styles of interviews 285 General advice for interviewers 287 Content of the interview 288 Carrying out different types of interview 290 Focus groups 298 Dealing with interview data 305 Skills in interviewing 306 Chapter 13 Tests and scales 307 Introduction